I had hoped to call my blog "The Dog's Breakfast," but that name was long since taken. But in that spirit "The Breakfast" offers a little of this and a little of that, not all of it pretty, some of it poorly chewed. These are papers, posts, stories, correspondence, musings, and links to ideas that interest or amuse me.

"The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) is one of a handful of influential U.S. policy
institutions—sometimes referred to as the “Israel Lobby”—whose central aim is to
push an Israel-centric Middle East agenda. Many of WINEP’s current and former
scholars have been closely associated with neoconservatism, and the organization
has been supportive of many of the same “war on terror” policies pushed by
groups like the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

Does
that invalidate their assessment? No, and I look forward to reading the analysis
you linked to. May we assume their world view colors their perceptions and
informs their agenda and editorial policy? Of course.

According to his
bio at HuffPo,
Carmichael is an academic, author, and media talking head with a
left-progressive agenda. Does that invalidate his assessment? No. May we
assume his world view colors his perceptions and informs his agenda and the
editorial policy at his Planetary Movement blog? Of
course.

I tried to find other sources that support Carmichael's claims
that Israel intends to deliberately influence the outcome of US elections and
found none. I conclude, for now, that he lapsed into editorial mode while
claiming to be in reporting mode (but I have sent him an email requesting
clarification). My additional reading yesterday uncovered a variety of more
mainstream sources that claim a decision to attack Iran has been made and that
the attack will occur before the US elections. Some sources claim that the
attacks will be timed to coincide with either the nominating conventions or the
election itself, when the US political establishment will be distracted,
maximally concerned with public opinion, and less likely to act decisively to
the detriment of Israel's plans.

I presume that in your career as an
information security professional you have learned to assess the accuracy,
integrity, and credibility of all your sources and interpret the information
they provide accordingly. As Aristotle told us, “It is the mark of an educated
mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” It is a shallow
mind that only trusts sources it agrees with.Image Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Air_Force